


Storage Wars

by Sugarmatsu



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, i honest to god only wrote this to be self indulgent, it wasn't supposed to be this long and yet here we are, it's legit only rated t for one swear word, mayday and 1010 are chaotic best friends and I accept nothing else, no faux cat ears were hurt in the making of this fic, still using both onionshipping tags bc i dont KNOW WHICH ONE TO USE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugarmatsu/pseuds/Sugarmatsu
Summary: Zuke and Mayday needed to clean out their storage room...though it seems some extra help has been called in.  Surely nothing can go wrong, right? Right?
Relationships: Zuke/Rin (1010), Zuke/Rin (No Straight Roads)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 159





	Storage Wars

“Are you serious Zuke!? We have to go through all of this!?”

Mayday’s whining permeates the room, causing the aforementioned drummer to roll his eyes. “Yes May, we do. Our storage room is almost overflowing with junk we need to either sort out or get rid of. I’ve reminded you about this all week.” His gaze landed on the massive amount of clutter in the large room, even Ellie wasn’t coming out of hiding with how much stuff was in here.

May groans loudly, shoulders sagging in the doorway still, seemingly glued to the spot. Zuke on the other hand began moving some boxes out of the way, putting various bits and baubles into whatever free space he could to sort them out. “We don’t have all day May, it’s just the two of us.” His tone became increasingly annoyed.

“I knooooow…” May slumps forward with heavy footsteps, before suddenly perking up with a devilish grin and whipping out her phone.

“What are you doing?” Zuke turns and raises a suspicious eyebrow, “We’re cleaning, not trying to get someone to bail us out of it.”

“I’m not! I’m asking for help! I just thought maybe having more hands would make this go faster, it IS just the two of us after all.” May snickers as she uses Zuke’s own words against him, clicking send and giving a wild grin at Zuke. Suddenly, he feels like today is going to get a lot more exhausting.

\---

The pair of rockers got into a rhythm over the hour. Mayday finally decided to start working, helping sort through various nicknacks and old spare parts no longer needed. Once a box was full, she’d toss it to Zuke who’d kick it towards the keep or get rid of piles. It was a fun cycle, well, as fun as cleaning could be.

Their rhythm was interrupted however by a few knocks to the sewer grate they called a door. Mayday lit up immediately, “I GOT IT!” She practically leapt over the boxes and out of the storage room, knocking over a couple in the process and spilling their contents.

“May wait-!” Zuke tries to call out, only to sigh and run an exasperated hand through his hair watching her run off. As much as he cared for his friend, she could be a bit too excitable for her own good sometimes. Ah well, it’s best not to leave whichever friend she invited over to wait very long. In the meantime Zuke picks up the boxes Mayday knocked over, carefully picking up it’s spilled contents and rearranging them inside the box.

With the now silent room, absent of Mayday’s chattering and complaining of WHY they have to do this, Zuke quietly tapped his foot on the ground to an unknown beat. Slowly beginning to hum to himself to break the silence and keep himself focused on the task at hand.

Zuke kept up the idle tune, part of him wondering where in the world May went- unless she ditched altogether. That was the likely case, he knows he should’ve followed her… He sighs, still humming to himself, no use trying to go after her now when she’s likely long gone. Might as well try to get done whatever he can.

The beat soon picked up, an electronic harmonization accompanying his own humming. Nodding his head along to the rhythm, there was just a second Zuke considering finding his sticks- 

Wait a second, electronic harmonization?

There’s a lull in Zuke’s tune as his humming slowly tapers off, stopping his movements and standing stiffly in place. Electronic harmonization could only mean...

The drummer quickly turns around, face to hip with the outrageously tall members of 1010. He quickly looks up instead, immediately hearing laughter amongst the robotic grins, with Mayday sitting happily on Zimelu’s shoulders. Zuke tries really hard not to groan, of course, who else did he think Mayday was going to call?

“Toldja I asked for help! Didja think I was gonna bail?” Mayday taps the red android’s shoulders, and he crouches down, allowing her to hop off. She turns back around to face the androids, arms spread wide, “Welcome to our awesomely amazing...STORAGE ROOM! This is gonna be so much more FUN with you guys here!”

“We’re just happy you invited us over!” The entirety of 1010 chimed, posing for May specifically as she giggles, they were the greatest of friends really. They complimented each other's chaotic tendencies perfectly, much to Zuke’s exasperation.

“After all, we’re always happy to help out our best friend!” Haym reaches over to ruffle May’s hair, and she bats at his hand, the wide smile on her face suggesting that she wasn’t actually annoyed.

Zuke crosses his arms across his chest, “As long as you’re actually _helping_ and not messing around.” He stays sternly, shooting a glare directly at Mayday- specifically avoiding the gaze of one specific android in particular.

Who just so happened to speak next.

“Aww don’t you trust us~? We’ll work super hard, right boys?” Rin throws a wink in Zuke’s direction, the rest of 1010 loudly agreeing with the white robot and echoing what he said, “Besiiiides, couldn’t let you do aaaaall this hard work on your own!” Stepping forward, Rin ruffles the top of Zuke’s head- mirroring what Haym had done to May. Except this time, in a whisper clearly meant for only Zuke to hear, “Besides, _I_ wouldn’t ever ignore my greatest fan in his time of need~!”

Though Zuke actually swats Rin’s hand away _with_ annoyance, trying to ignore the heat rising to his face. With a deep sigh he looks over the group with wide smiles on their faces and brings up a hand to his face to rub the space between his eyes.

“Okay okay, fine, let’s just get working.” Zuke gives in, finally. He always did when it came to _him_ though. Mayday knew exactly what she was doing when she invited 1010 of all people, especially with her knowing smirk sent directly in his direction as Rin hovers by Zuke’s side.

Quickly turning on his heel, returning to the box he had been sorting out prior to the appearance of the colorful androids, he motions towards the rest of the room, “Feel free to pick up anywhere,” He points towards a pile near the entrance, “That’s the keep stuff, and over there is the get rid of.” The drummer’s hand motions to another pile opposite the room of the ‘keep’. “If there’s anything that doesn’t obviously look like trash, just ask me or May where it goes.” His hand drops, and he waves them off.

With instructions given, 1010 gives a salute (habit really), and they all break off into teams. Mayday sticks with Zimelu, and Purl-Hew trails behind the two while adjusting his shades. Haym and Eloni give each other a fistbump with a cheer and happily plop onto the ground and “sort” things (which was more like seeing what was in all these boxes).

Then, of course, Rin stuck right where he was- right by Zuke’s side, smiling oh-so sweetly down at the drummer who was purposefully not looking up at the android’s face. Instead he remained determinedly focused on the box in front him, knowing full well Rin was going to take every opportunity to distract him. He always did. (It usually worked too, as much as Zuke doesn’t want to admit it.)

So Zuke continues sorting out various objects, clothes that had been outgrown, spare parts no longer in use...all while trying to ignore the hand wrapping around his waist and pulling him closer to the robot’s side…

This was going to be a long day.

\---

Fortunately, Zuke managed to weasel away from Rin for the time being. The group as a whole mostly talked and laughed amongst each other. Mayday and Zuke even impressed the entirety of 1010 with their amazing box kicking combo! That earned a round of applause, and even Zuke had to admit having 1010 around made this a lot more fun.

Well, until it started getting “crazy” when May nudged the drummer, asking for a quick break! They had all been working for so long! With a roll of his eyes, Zuke agreed- which was his first mistake.

What started out as a simple break of Mayday and the robots goofing off had turned into an all out war. Haym decided he was going to stack the MOST BOXES, and started working immediately, with Eloni falling soon behind to help out. Zimelu wasn’t having it, and said no HE was going to build the highest box tower, and Purl-Hew stood by the red android’s side nodding his head. Which only sparked the competition.

Mayday bounced from either side, the “referee” she called herself, cheering the boys on as the towers turned into towering forts, and then they weren’t cleaning anything anymore. Because then Mayday had the bright idea to say, “First one to knock over the other’s tower WINS!”

Then all hell broke loose.

With Mayday’s cheering, the android’s decided to take what they could find and toss it at the other ‘team’, trying to pelt them like it was some twisted snowball fight. Even Mayday decided she had enough of sitting on the sidelines and joined it, aiming for whoever wandered across her vision.

Zuke watched it all happen, standing to the side and dodging any stray projectiles that happened to fly his way, with an exasperated look on his face. For a moment, he considers stopping it, but he just throws his hands up. Let them have their fun, not much he could even DO to stop it.

He’ll just make sure they pick it up when they’re done.

So Zuke decides to take cover behind one of the towers, out of sight and out of the way of the battle ensuing, trying to tune out the rambunctious crowd. He managed to find a box that WASN’T used for their forts, and drug it towards him while he squatted near the ground, opening the flaps to see what was inside.

Before he can, however, a shadow looms over him and a silver hand goes into the box instead, causing Zuke to look up and see Rin smiling down at him. Zuke rolls his eyes, and looks back towards the various objects in the box- seeing mostly spare parts that were never used in Zuke’s various modifications around their home.

“I’m surprised you aren’t joining in the war going on,” Zuke snorts, “The ‘troops’ could use their leader right?” 

Rin laughs at that, an electronic giggle that made Zuke’s heart skip a beat, and once again- Zuke tries to not think about that, “I think they’re handling their mission just fine! Besides...I have one of my own~!” He hums softly crouching down to the ground with Zuke.

“And what could that be?” Zuke lifts an eyebrow, turning his head to look at the white android.

“To win you over of course~!”

Zuke sputters, much to Rin’s delight, the android’s glowing eyes beaming brightly as his sweet smile turns more into a big smirk.

However, Rin’s attention was soon pulled away to something he found in the box, “Oh? What’s this?” Shuffling through the spare mechanical bits and pieces he pulls out a pair of faux cat ears on a headband. The android’s face lights up at the sight.

“You HAVE to keep these~! They’re so cute!” To which, Zuke rolls his eyes. (Even if it was, really cute to see Rin so excited.)

“They’re from an old Halloween costume, I’m not even sure why they’re still here...” He remembers that Halloween all too well, Mayday had picked out the costumes...well more like got them without telling him. She had found an alligator costume and demanded that she was Ellie! But don’t worry Zuke, she had said, she found you a great costume!

It was not his greatest moment, being dressed as a cat the whole night. Even if it made Mayday happy. He hopes all those photos had been deleted because if Rin ever got his hands on them… A faint blush spreads on Zuke’s face.

“...That can be tossed, I doubt we even still have the rest of the costume.” Zuke prays they don’t last thing he needs is Rin finding the rest of it and piecing together who it fits and wanting Zuke to put it on.

Rin purses his lips into a pout, “Whaaat? No way! They’re in perfectly good condition, see!” As if to prove his point, Rin puts the ears onto his own head, “See- Nya~!” His synthesizer sings out the cat-like noise while he puts his hands up acting as “paws” like you’d see in a cute girl’s selfie...and for some reason Zuke feels his face heating up more. This was not fair.

“There’s already enough junk in here, take those off and put them in the pile.” Zuke tries to keep his voice firm, and Rin sticks out his tongue with an added wink.

“If you want them, come and get them~!”

Zuke knows he’d be playing exactly into Rin’s hands if he did, but… Well, he really didn’t want to be distracted by the now catboy Rin for the rest of the night, so he quickly darts forward keeping his balance on his knees and reaching for the ears.

Rin’s grin grew wider, leaning back on his ankle joints and one hand grabbing Zuke’s wrist while the other snaked around his waist, pulling Zuke into his lap, tsking quietly, “Going to have to try harder than that~!”

With his free hand, Zuke presses against Rin’s chest, pushing him back to try and wiggle out of Rin’s grip. Zuke could tell Rin wasn’t really trying to keep him there, if the android wanted he could easily overpower the drummer in a show of strength, but no Rin was simply egging him on.

And was it working?

Sadly, yes.

“Just hand over the cat ears and I won’t have to do something I’ll regret.” The corners of Zuke’s mouth curve into a small grin, a playful tone crossing into his voice. Everyone else was playing around...maybe a small break wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Not like anyone else was paying attention to the two behind all the boxes.

Rin seemed pleased by the turn of events, humming contentedly as Zuke spoke, “Hmm...Nope~!”

With that, Zuke leaned back into Rin, with force, using his free hand to try and wrangle the ears off of Rin’s head, squirming to get his other hand free to pull himself up Rin’s larger body. Rin wasn’t having it however, leaning back and trying to pull Zuke closer to his chest so he couldn’t move, laughing all the while. Even Zuke had a grin on his face, trying hard not to laugh himself.

Soon, Zuke’s swiping got too close for Rin’s comfort (he did want to win after all), and he tried to stand quickly, however with Zuke’s added weight it threw him off balance causing him to stumble backwards instead and sent both of them crashing back into the floor with a metallic _THUD_.

Which was left unheard by the commotion on the other side of the box fort.

So, the two were silent for a moment, Rin laying on his back and Zuke resting on top of him. They both stared at each other with a blank expression, before Rin got the biggest shit-eating grin imaginable and broke the silence between them.

“Guess I really _fell_ for you.”

Zuke immediately groans, thunking his forehead onto Rin’s chest to hide his own smile and furiously blushing face. He can barely stifle his own snort at the absurdity of the situation, Rin’s stupid grin, and just- everything. The drummer’s shoulders bounce with silent laughter and Rin’s arms wrap around him, tugging him closer and giving a brief kiss to the top of Zuke’s head.

“Looks like I win~! The cat ears stay.”

Zuke finally looks up crossing his arms over Rin’s chest to rest his chin on, “Fine, but you’re keeping them- not me.”

“I can live with that.”

The two lay like that for a moment longer, simply looking into one another’s eyes, completely ignoring anything that could be happening around them.

“You look ridiculous with those on, you know.” Zuke hums, his soft smile never leaving his face.

Rin beams, teasing back, “And you love it anyways~!”

Zuke rolls his eyes, unravelling his arms to pull himself up past Rin’s shoulders, so his face was looking down into Rin’s, “Yea, I guess I do.”

The drummer doesn’t allow Rin to make any sort of comment after that, instead pressing his face onto Rin's into a long drawn-out kiss. His arms rested on the ground by Rin’s head to support his body, hands finding their way to hold onto the side of Rin’s head, gently lifting his face up for a better angle.

Rin hummed in surprise, before happily accepting the kiss, returning it eagerly. His arms stayed wrapped around the drummer’s body, holding him tightly as if not wanting this moment to end.

One kiss turned into two, then three… All more loving and tender than the last. Content smiles painted onto both of their faces, they could stay like this like the rest of the day and be perfectly content.

Except…

“LOOK OUT!”

Something heavy crashed into the box fort, jolting the two from their tender moment, and within a couple of seconds the tower of boxes fell on top of them, smothering them in a mess of cardboard and whatever had fallen out of them.

“HA! WE WON!” Zimelu’s booming voice was the first thing the two heard, coming out of their stupor, Zuke suddenly remembering the battle that had been ongoing while he and Rin were...busy.

“NOOO! YOU CHEATED!” Haym’s whines echoed back, stomping his foot into the ground, and Mayday’s loud cackling laughter broke through it all.

Zimelu and Haym continued to bicker about the legality of the play, while Eloni looked around before realizing, “Wait- where’s Rin and Zuke?”

Everyone suddenly went silent, simultaneously looking towards the fallen mess of boxes.

“SHIT.” They practically all exclaim at once, leaping towards the mess and tossing them aside to dig out their friends, “Are you guys okay!?” Eloni exclaims, a worried expression on his face as the boxes finally revealed the two.

“...Guys I think they’re juuuust fine, if anything I think they had a more productive break than we did.” Mayday covers her mouth with a snort, nudging Purl-Hew in the hip who _definitely_ wasn’t taking photos to use against them later.

Zuke remained in Rin’s arms, embarrassed and shoving his face into Rin’s neck with a groan. Meanwhile the android in question looked up at the rest with a sheepish smile and waved.

Needless to say, they did not finish cleaning the storage room that day.

Zuke made sure the rambunctious bunch cleaned up their mess though once he was finally allowed to get up, much to Mayday’s dismay, while he and Rin got to take a much longer “break” without any nuisances.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this was purely self-indulgent and I have exactly no excuses. Well- Enjoy!
> 
> Though in addition to more one shots like this, I do plan on writing a more plot-heavy chapter fic for Zuke and Rin! It'll be a sorta "Sequel" of sorts to 5 Minutes but it might take me a bit to get started on it since I need to beat the game first FKNGDLKG So stay tuned for that and until then- hope you enjoy these little one offs!


End file.
